The Nambu pistols (南部拳銃 or 南部大型自動拳銃, Nanbu kenjuu/Nanbu ōgata jidou-kenjuu) were a series of semi-automatic pistols produced by the Japanese company Koishikawa Arsenal, later known as the Tokyo Artillery Arsenal.[1] The series had three variants, the Type A, the Type B (also known as the Baby Nambu), and the Type 14 (南部十四年式自動拳銃). The Nambu pistols were designed to replace Japan's earlier service pistol, the Type 26 Revolver.
The pistols were designed by Kijiro Nambu and saw extensive service in the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific War. The most common variant, the Type 14, was used mostly by officers, who had to pay for their pistols themselves.
Towards the end of the war, the production quality began to decline in order to speed up manufacture. Nambu pistols were noted for their lack of reliability and stopping power compared to other handguns being fielded by other nations at the same time, such as the M1911 and Walther P38.
